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Heavy time demands reducing volunteer firefighter ranks

Local fire departments large and small have a challenge of recruiting and retaining firefighters. 2 firefighters from the county talk about obstacles they face, but ultimately why they do what they do.

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From left, volunteer firefighters from across the county Paula Aldus, Paul Sitze and Cody Mitchem organize cans of food to send to victims of Hurricane Harvey on Sept. 6.(Photo: Erica Brechtelsbauer / The Leaf-Chronicle)Buy Photo

Corrections & clarifications: An earlier version of this story misspelled the name of Montgomery County Fire Service Chief Jerry Buchanan.

Communities across Tennessee depend on volunteers who risk their lives to save the lives — and property — of their neighbors.

But as more people struggle to balance work schedules with home life, fire departments large and small are finding it difficult to recruit and retain these volunteers.

Just one of those time-killers: 96 hours of training is required before a firefighter can enter a burning building.

“It really takes a toll,” Stewart County Fire & Rescue Chief Clint Mathis said of the time commitment. “It’s like having a second job, but there’s no pay.”

Rarely are volunteers paid, and often they buy equipment not provided by fire departments. And to further aid their department, they commit time for fundraising.

For the most part, local governments pay for trucks or tankers and other big-ticket equipment items.

Some larger counties pay volunteers a modest amount. This year the Montgomery County Commission set aside $225,000 in the budget to pay volunteer firefighters.

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Volunteer firefighters from across departments in Montgomery County gather food and water donations to send to victims of Hurricane Harvey on Sept. 6.(Photo: Erica Brechtelsbauer / The Leaf-Chronicle)

That only sounds like a lot until you break it down. District chiefs receive $300 a month, and assistant chiefs get $150 per month. Those with extra training receive a one-time annual stipend of $300 (first responders, hazmat techs) or $100 (CPR or extrication certifications).

Whatever money is left over is divided among firefighters for each response they answer during the year.

“It may go a little way toward paying for gas,” said Montgomery County Fire Service Chief Jerry Buchanan. “Every time you move your vehicle (to respond), it costs you money.”

Montgomery County Mayor Jim Durrett said those payments are a first step that could lead to paid county firefighters in the future.

“With all the development in our county, it is incumbent on the government to do as much as we can to protect our citizens,” he said.

Offering pay "would provide a better level of fire service. And I’m not saying volunteers don’t do a good job already. Some of them stay at the stations (overnight), but having a station manned 24/7, 365 days will make a difference.”

The hope is the stipends might help with keeping volunteer firefighters on board.

By contrast, the City of Erin tried to earmark $9,000 in the 2017-18 budget to pay volunteer firefighters $50 a month, but some on the Board of Mayor and Aldermen objected.

“Some of the members wanted it moved (elsewhere in the budget),” Erin Mayor Paul Bailey said at the time, but they were not specific about where the money should go.

Ultimately, the $9,000 is to be spent for maintenance on the city’s approximately 130 fire hydrants, six of which were inoperable.

Recruiting help

In Dover, Stewart County Fire & Rescue was contracted in 2015 to provide fire protection inside the city limits.

About four years ago, the number of volunteers in Stewart County dropped below 80, which concerned county officials, especially because only about a quarter of those were available during the day.

“It has gotten somewhat better,” Mathis said. “We still have an issue with turnover. We have people come in and be all gung-ho, and get into the training and then fade out.

“We don’t know if they did not realize the commitment it takes or what it is.”

There are resources out there to help. Erin Fire Department was among 16 receiving a Federal Emergency Management Agency SAFER grant through the Tennessee Fire Chiefs Association. The Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grant helps departments increase or maintain the number of trained firefighters.

Marketing and advertising materials were bought with the money, along with mailers, signs and banners. “It gives them a path to pursue and to contact us and get information about volunteering,” Chief Danny Warren said.

EFD has 20 spots for firefighters, which are currently filled by 11 volunteers. Warren said he is hoping to recruit four new firefighters and someone to help with administration of the department.